Cabt-opeiteb



IVIx McCUNE.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED rse.29.191e.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT oniuon.

MARK MCCUNE, 0F POMEROY, OHIO.

CAN-OPENER.

Application filed February 29, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MARK MCCUNE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pomeroy, in the county of Meigs and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in can openers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of can openers and to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive device of strong and durable construction capable of enablinga can to be rapidly cut through the side walls below the top whereby thetop may be removed and smooth upper edges left on the body of the canso as not to interfere with the emptying of the contents of thesame completely as is the case with an ordinary can opener cutting through the top and leaving an inwardly extending flange at the top of the side walls.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can opener of this character capable of ready adjustment to arrange it for operating on cans of various sizes and capable of exerting sufficient leverage to enable the cutting operation to be easily performed.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a can opener constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a can, Fig. 2 is a plan View of the can opener, Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 83 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a similar View, the can being omitted and the sleeve and blade being shown in elevation, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the sleeve and the blade are formed, Fig. 6 is a detail view of the guard.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

Serial No. 81,189.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawing. In the accompanying drawing in which is llustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the can opener comprises in its construction, a lever 1 consisting of a flat bar provided at its outer or rear end with a handle 2, and having a tapered extension 3 at the front or inner end bent downwardly and forwardly at 4 to arrange the point or outer portion in a lower plane than the body portion of the lever and in substantial parallelism therewithso asto enable the tapered extension to pierce the top 5 of a can 6 at the center thereof and extend beneath the top as clearly shown inv Fig. 1. By this construction the lever 1 is adapted to lie upon the top of the cam while the tapered extension forms a pivot or fulcrum and extends through and beneath the top.

The lever 1 has mounted on it a slidable sleeve 7 designed to be constructed of sheet metal or other suitable material and provided at the bottom with a blade 8 arranged horizontally and connected with the lower portion of the sleeve by a shank or connecting portion 9 and adapted to pierce the side wall of a can as shown in Fig. 1 whereby the side wall will be cut and the top severed therefrom when the lever is swung around the can on the tapered extension or point 3. lhe sleeve and the blade are preferably stamped from a blank 10 but they may be constructed in any other desired manner and the said sleeve is secured in its adjustment by a curved guard 11 having a central transverse slot 12 through which the lever passes. The lever 1 is provided at intervals with transverse grooves 13 and the guard is equipped at the top of the slot 12 with a lug or projection 14 adapted to engage the grooves or recesses 13 at the inner or rear end of the sleeve to form a stop for the latter to prevent the sleeve from slipping rearwardly. By this construction the sleeve and the blade are firmly maintained in engagement with the cam. The guard which is curved extends above and below the lever and presents a rear concave face.

In the operation of the device, the point or tapered projection 3 is inserted in the top of the can at the center thereof and the lever is lowered to a horizontal position resting upon the top of the can. The sleeve is then moved toward the can and pressure applied sufliciently to cause the knife or blade to pierce the wall of the can. The sleeve is then looked in such adjustment by the guard and the lever is rotated to sever the top of the can from the body portion thereof. This will leave smooth edges at the top of the body and there will be no projecting flanges or portions to interfere with the removal of the contents of the can as is the case when the top is cut adjacent to the walls of the can.

The blank 10 is composed ofan oblong portion 15 which is bent transversely to form'the sleeve, an intermediate tapered portion 16 and an approximately L-shaped terminal portion 17 which is tapering as shown in Fig. 5 and, which constitutes the blade 8. The tapered portion 16 of the blank forms the shank 9.

What is claimed is 1. A can opener of the class described including a lever having means for pivotally connecting it to the 'top of a can at the center thereof, said lever being provided in one of its faces with a series of transverse grooves, a sleeve slidable on the lever and provided with a depending blade arranged to pierce the wall of a can below the top thereof, and a guard having an opening receiving the lever and located at the rear end of the sleeve, said guard being provided with a lag for engaging the grooves to lock the sleeve against rearward movement.

2. A can opener of the class described including a lever provided with a tapering extension adapted to pierce the top of a can at the center thereof to form a pivot for the lever, said lever being provided in one of its faces with a series of ,transverse grooves, a sleeve slidable onthe lever and provided with a depending blade and having an approximately horizontal cutting portion. disposed, in; substantial. parallelism with the lever and spaced therefrom so as to pierce the wall of the can below the top of the same and; a guardhaving an opening receiving the lever and, located at the rear. end of; the sleeve, saidguardbeing pro-. vided with means for engaging the grooves to lock the sleeve against rearward movement.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARK MoGUNE.

Witnesses D.,H. PEOPLES, Mrs. W. J. WARNER.

Copies of this patentlmay; be obtained for five cents each, byv addressing the Commissioner otlatents, Washington, 11.0..- 

